Right Here
by 2sidedstoryteller29995
Summary: Roxanne has a nightmare. George is there to comfort her and get to the bottom of her troubles.


"_You okay, Freddie?" _

"_Yeah." _

"_Me too."_

_Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (film-Part 2)_

Try as she might, she could not sleep. She lay back and squeezed her eyes tight shut but that did not work. She tossed and turned, pummelling her pillow into shape. She could not stop thinking about it. Thoughts of Hogwarts chased each other around her head and it was impossible to shut them out.

After what felt like hours, her eyelids started to feel heavy and she waited for sleep to come, glad of the respite. When she did fall asleep, she dreamt.

X

At first, nothing seemed amiss. She was just re-living the party, wandering through the Burrow with the others, chatting to her relatives and friends.

The First- Year Farewell party was something they had brought about when Teddy was going into First Year. It was an opportunity for the whole family to be together again one last time before the younger children joined their siblings at Hogwarts. The party was a chance for them to say their goodbyes and get some-last minute advice.

It was precisely her family members and their advice that was the problem.

Everyone was vying for her attention. They were all shouting at the same time, their voices blurred together as did their facial features. Their words echoed around her until she could not hear herself think.

The noise made it difficult to concentrate. She wasn't looking where she was going and without realising it, She alone in the centre of the kitchen. Everyone else had retreated to the corners of the room. They stood in groups, according to their Houses. They all wanted her to join them.

Teddy grabbed me first, almost yanking her right arm out of its socket. I tried to stand her ground, but he was too strong. He pulled her over to their side and she saw that they had already poached Hugo and Lucy. At least she thought it must have been them. They didn't look themselves; their grins were too bright, too artificial. It looked as though it pained them to smile. They were not there by choice.

Teddy spoke on behalf of them all. At least she thought he was Teddy. When he spoke he didn't sound like himself and seeing him properly for the first time she saw that he didn't look like himself either. Gone were the turquoise locks and the easy grin. His eyes were black and cold, his features gaunt, his hair was long and unruly. He looked like a cross between a man and an animal. The way that his eyes moved scared me, it seemed as though he was sizing me up like a piece of meat.

She saw with horror that he wasn't the only one. A honey badger sat in the corner, sharpening its claws, biding its time before going in for the kill.

His words echoed in her mind. 'You must change Roxanne. It is the only way.'

She turned and fled to the centre once more. It was a mistake. By trying to escape, she let herself walk into the clutches of another House. A deranged looking Molly grabbed her arm and held on tight. 'Don't be stupid Roxanne. Join us.'

She had no choice, because at that very moment, a great eagle swooped down to grab her. In the air above the Ravenclaw corner, there was a large nest. Looking around she saw that Lily was there too. She sat, chained to a desk, vacantly staring at an open book. She looked around and saw Louis. He caught sight of her and looked pleased to see her, but not in the usual way. His eyes were _hungry. _

He looked as though nothing more than to eat her. He started towards her, walking slowly arms outstretched. 'Brains...' Frightened, she stumbled backwards, tumbling from the nest, spinning in the air. Her heart was in her mouth. She knew she was only seconds away from death.

She did not meet death. Instead, she met her father. She found herself in his arms, instead of on the ground in pieces.

'Thank you,' she whispered hoarsely. He only nodded. He did not smile as she thought he would. He looked strangely sombre; he did not make a sound as he carried her away, but she didn't care. She was just glad to be safe.

She was so relieved, that she forgot to take note of where exactly they were going. When she did, she realised they had entered what must have been a dark tunnel. It was impossible to see.

Noise however, was in no short supply. Though they were alone, there was plenty of screaming, shouting and even clapping. He came to a halt then and set me on her feet again. He put his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eye. She gulped.

'I have done you a great service. You have said already, how grateful you are, but words are not enough. You are in debt to me and to this family. In this family, we pay our debts. In this family we uphold our honour. If you wish to be part of this family, you must fight to defend it.'

Without waiting for an answer, he frogmarched her out of the tunnel into the bright daylight. When her eyes adjusted, she saw that there were many people in the stands above. She recognised a lot of them.

With a jolt, she realised she knew the place too. _She was in the Colosseum _

Each of the people that each of the people in the stands was either a witch or a wizard, but they were not wearing robes. They wore togas the colour of blood.

However, she had bigger things to worry about it. She was not alone in the arena. She did not spare a moment's thought for clothes. She was too busy thinking about whether the lion would rip off her flesh.

Fear squeezed her insides and she bolted back to where she had come in.

She knew it would be coming after her. She did not look back. She heard the tunnel door closing behind her, but still she did not stop. She had to get away. She kept running. She ran right into the trap- an open trapdoor.

As she fell, she reached out. Her fingers scrabbled for a hold. She found one and she did not let go. Over the sound of her breathing she, could make out the hissing of a thousand snakes in the pit below. She could feel her own fingers slipping, so she screamed as she had never screamed before.

When a hand reached out she wasted no time in grabbing it.

It wasn't until she had been pulled out of there that she realised. Lying panting on the ground, she saw that her Grandmum was the one who rescued her.

Upon opening her eyes and seeing her face, she was even more relieved to discover that she was not wearing a crimson toga. Instead, she wore a flowery apron. 'They were...' she trailed off and her whole body shook as she sobbed.

Her grandmother gave her a sympathetic pat on the arm. 'I know dear. All of them wanted you, didn't they?' Somehow, she managed a nod.

'Well, that can't happen now can it?' Her voice was kind.

She shook her head. 'I need to decide, don't I?' Her voice was rather high pitched. She struggled upright, trying to regain some of her composure.

She seemed surprised that her granddaughter would even suggest such a thing. 'No, dear of course, you don't. No need to worry, I know exactly what we will do.' Gently, she pushed her back down.

She didn't know what was happening until it was too late. The gleam in her eyes was mirrored by that of the blade. The gush of crimson was followed by blackness.

X

George Weasley woke to the sound of his daughter's screams.

Panic seized him. He glanced around him hurriedly searching frantically for his wand, sprinting towards her room, with no idea what he would find there.

It was her screams that woke him but that was not all she was doing. As he came closer, it was easier for him to distinguish the words that came between the sobs.

'No! Please no...'

It startled him to see that though she was speaking, she was not conscious. Her eyelids were closed.

For a moment, he felt relieved. _It was only a dream. _Then, he started to feel anxious. _What happened next? _Was it like sleepwalking? Was it okay to wake her up? He didn't have a clue what to do. He racked his brains, but came up blank. As far as he could remember, Albus had nightmares up until the age of five and he had a vague memory of Lucy being of the dark for a while, but he couldn't remember any of the details.

X

They hadn't gone through it themselves.

Of the two of their children, Roxie had the most spirit. Over the years, she had put up the odd fight when it came to bath time or bedtime. Her only reason for wanting to delay anything of that nature was so that she could do more fun stuff. She was not a troublesome child though. Usually it wasn't long before she discovered just how nice the bubbles were or how interesting the story the bedtime story was.

Sometime after that, her eyes would start to feel heavy and she would soon forget how she told her father she wasn't in the least bit tired. As soon as her head actually hit the pillow, she would be out like a light.

Then, as soon as dawn broke the next morning, she would come in to visit them in their bedroom. Angelina often joked that her bouncing on their bed was better than any buzzing alarm clock. Every morning she would arrive in to see them, fresh as a daisy and delighted that a new day was beginning just outside the window.

She never wandered in during the night and when she did wake up, she never mentioned nightmares or anything of the sort- not then, not ever.

That was what made it so strange. That was what made it so frightening.

X

George Weasley was never one to sit still. He could not stand to see her so upset. He had to do something. His instinct kicked in and he reached out.

When she opened her eyes and saw him, she recoiled in terror. 'Don't take me back to the lions!' He lit his wand tip and with a flick of his wand, cast light into every corner of the room.

'There are no lions here, there's only me. Your Dad. I'm right here, it's all right.' For a moment, she debated whether to trust him. Then, it was her turn to reach out-to makes sure that he was real. When she was fully certain he was in fact her father, she would not let go.

He sat himself on the bed and pulled her into his lap to soothe her. She clung to him, crying. It was a long while before the sobbing subsided and she was able to speak properly.

X

She returned to her senses, and he managed to coax the details out of her. She told him a tale of four creatures, possessed cousins and of bloodshed. Slowly, things started to make sense. She had dreamt that he had led her, like a lamb to slaughter, to fight a lion in order to defend the family honour. Worse than the badger, the eagle or the snakes was what happened afterwards. In the dream, his own mother had cut her into four parts- so that each House would get a piece of her.

The people in the dreams were warped versions of themselves, but their message rang true. She hadn't said as much, but he knew that she thought she had to be a Gryffindor to please him. She thought she had to be brave all the time. She thought she had to apologise for being afraid.

'I'm sorry for waking you up. I shouldn't have screamed. I'm sorry.' She blushed as she said it.

He had never said anything of the sort. but somehow subconsciously she had picked up on it. He was the cause of his own daughter's nightmares, and she was apologising to _him? _He felt sick.

George was aghast. 'Don't be. It wasn't your fault you had a nightmare. Everyone has them.'

Roxie looked as though she did not believe him. 'I bet you don't.'

'You think so? Well you're right. Strictly speaking, I didn't have nightmares. I had something much worse...'

X

George could remember them, as if it was yesterday. Maybe he did have nightmares, but if so, he never remembered them. He only remembered jolting awake and feeling unsettled. Half asleep he would instinctively reach for his wand and get out of bed. He would sprint to his brother's room, certain that some sort of alarm had sounded, that the Order needed them to fight.

He would come in, often stumbling over boxes in the dark, only to discover that his brother was not in his room. He would come to his senses then, realising that the war was over. His brother was gone and he was never coming back.

That was when the panic would engulf him. Usually it was all he could do to cling to the bedpost. His breath would come in short gasps. His whole body would shake and before long, he would be covered in sweat. Worst of all was the tightness in his chest. Several times, he thought he was going to die.

Several times, he wanted to. In those days, whenever he thought about having to live without his brother he panicked. The panic attacks frightened him, but so did the thought of carrying on living without his twin.

It wouldn't take much to set him off. Sometimes just waking up and being unable to hear his brother's snoring was enough. The feeling was always the same though; disorientation followed by anxiety and later, embarrassment.

Roxie was not the only one who had ever felt that way.

X

She listened carefully, distracted from her own troubles for a while. When he was finished she asked, 'how long did it go on for?'

'It happened a lot; as much as three times a week maybe, for years after the war.' She bowed her head.

'I'm sorry you went through that.'

'Me too, but the important thing is, it's over now.' She nodded.

X

They sat in silence, for a while, but eventually she spoke. 'I might try going back to sleep,' she whispered. George frowned. _There was no time like the present. _If he left it until morning, she might not remember anything.

'Roxie... before you go, can I ask you something?' She nodded.

'Have you ever had nightmares like this before?' After pondering for a moment, she shook her head.

'There was a lion, an eagle, a badger and some snakes in your dream, right?' She nodded again, and he could feel her shuddering as she did so.

'Tell me, are worried about tomorrow? About going to Hogwarts?' She smiled.

'I'm kind of excited,' she murmured.

George hadn't been expecting an answer like that. He thought for a moment, before continuing. 'Okay good. But what about when you actually get there? The Sorting- how do you feel about that?'

She didn't answer right away, but her face told him he had touched on the source of her trouble. She searched for the right word.

'I don't know... In my dream, everyone was trying to pull me over to them, to get me to join their House. Everyone always talks about their House and great it is, but I don't know if they're telling the truth or not I don't know which is a good House. I don't know which the right one for me is.' At first, she looked apologetic, but once the words started flowing she couldn't stop them. In the end she just looked relieved, glad to get it all off her chest.

George surveyed her, nodded in understanding.

'Everyone talks about greatness, I know. There is rivalry between the Houses, there always has been. That means that certain people from certain Houses will say certain things about other Houses to try and put their members down. Some people say that certain Houses are not as good, or as great as others are. I do not believe it, Even if some people said your House wasn't great, you could be the one to make them think differently. You could be great.'

He weighed his words with care, putting thought into them. They seemed to have worked too. She was no longer clinging to him; she was sitting up and listening attentively.

'You don't need to even think about that now, because you haven't been Sorted yet. It's okay to feel confused about the House. It doesn't matter if you don't know what House you're going to be put into. The Sorting Hat always knows.'

She still did not look convinced. She was nervously biting her lip. 'What if...?' She seemed almost afraid to go on. However, George found, that he could tell what was on her mind, just like he'd been able to do with his brother.

'Roxie, they always say that when you're at Hogwarts, your House is like your family. That's true. This family is large enough, that we don't all belong to the one House.'

Roxanne thought about it. He was right. The first in the family to go to Hogwarts, Teddy, had been Sorted into Hufflepuff. Though, technically, he wasn't a Weasley, or even a Potter. He was a Lupin, though he took after his mother, because she was a Hufflepuff before him.

Then, when Victoire's time came, she followed her father's example and was Sorted into Gryffindor. It seemed as though the family as though the family tradition was about to continue, until Dominique was Sorted into Ravenclaw. Louis swiftly followed her, along with Molly. Roxanne had heard her father joke-in private- that his niece took after her father in that she was a know it all. Everyone agreed with that statement. When his time came, Freddy took his place in Hufflepuff. The year after James sat proudly at the Gryffindor table. Then, Rose joined him there, while Albus went to Hufflepuff.

'I know the Ravenclaws have rivalry with the Hufflepuffs and the Slytherins have a rivalry with the Gryffindors, but we're all still a family. No matter what, we will always love you.'

He added as an afterthought. 'No matter what House you get sorted into you will always be welcome in this house. This house will always be your home.' He spoke slowly and clearly, he wanted there to be no confusion.

'If you don't want to be in a particular House, or even any House, you don't have to be. You don't have to go Hogwarts, not if you don't want to.' As he said it, he was looking her straight in the eye. He was serious.

Roxie's didn't quite manage to tell him that she did in fact want to go. She tried, but ended up yawning. George took this as a signal that perhaps their late-night chat had gone on a little too long. Sure enough, when he looked at his watch it was heading for one o'clock in the morning.

Eventually, when she managed to get her message across, he tucked her back into her bed, kissing her forehead. 'I think you'd better get some rest. You've a big day ahead.' He got to his feet and Roxie felt a surge of panic as she saw that he was retreating.

She watched him out of the corner of her eye. She watched as he took a seat on her desk chair, before scooting closer to the bed.

'Go to sleep Roxie. Like I said, I'm right here.'

She was not alone.


End file.
